Five years have passed since the "End of an Era," and the time has finally come for our adventurers to return to Eorzea. Bear witness to the dawn of a new age in this prologue video for FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn!

Never confuse your inference as the listener for an implication of the speaker.

Good games are subjective like good food is subjective. You're not going to seriously tell me that there's not a psychological basis for why pizza is great and lutefisk is revolting. The thing about subjectivity is that, as subjects go, humans actually have a great deal in common.

And *bam* there were Chocobos conjured out of thin air. Deus ex machina, exactly when they needed a mount to charge towards whatever it was they saw. And some high-low-pitch chorus tells us "Tatatataaaaa Taa-taa-tattattaaaaa! Eorzeaaaa!" (traditional FF victroy jingle). And we see a Bi-ba-behemoth. And some icy tower. And lots of other completely unrelated stuff that reminds us that this is part of the FF franchise. 一応.

And the heroes charge and charge on into the sunset. And adventure. Fast & furious. 4. Hi-ho.

I couldn't tell but, were the NPCs alive this whole time, or were they transported as well? I couldn't quite make out if that guy had just been praying for 5 years or if he just reappeared.

Regardless, this is a pretty epic intro to the game and I hope the beginning of 2.0 can follow such an opening. You know, it just wouldn't feel right, story-wise, to have JUST been teleported from an epic battle and then walk up to an npc "Hi there adventurer! I need 5 rat tails, Savvy?"

Liked the video, yes it throws up some more questions but isn't that what they want (more people talking/chatting about it?). I particularly liked the last shot of them galloping into the new land, some interesting architecture/landscape to explore in the real game I hope! :)

None of these are explained, none of them are coherent, what is the point of them?

Its a trailer...its not FF Spirits Within part 2.

As for explanation, i think its pretty straightforward: New areas, new big bad boss, re-appearance of classic FF elements (Tower, Behemoth), and an obvious focus on Chocobos being a larger part of the game than we've seen in the past.

And clearly at least some of the NPCs made the time jump or otherwise survived. Can't have FF without Cid after all, and I was certainly pleased to see that the blindfolded pugilist Gridanian chick (name forgotten) with the badass leg armor survived.

I liked the video but I really want to know why the "Players" didn't seem the least bit surprised when they walked out of the forest. It was as if they were traveling through the forest, where the chocobos were unable to walk, and when they got out they were excited again. They called out the chocobos and hit the road.

I see how the, Ill call them "Sages," could walk away from where they were praying and knew what happened but the protagonist group, to me, seemed like they completely forgot about the epic battle they were in once they got out of the forest. Right away, yeah, they were like; "O, wow, look, what's going on... My arm, is that real?" But outside they were like "sweet, we made it out, that was a hard forest to walk through, where's my Chocobo... /callchocobo." "Run to the frozen peak!"

Maybe I'm expecting to much? I would have like to see some signs of the battle, like a monument for them to look at and then seem grateful, or maybe before they show up in the forest we see a glimpse of them in darkness with the symbols of The Twelve spinning around them with a soft echo or whisper of "its time my children, awaken and find your destiny and a realm reborn." That would also give new players a sense of what had happened. The world had regrown and prospered for a long amount of time to recover from a Mega Flair. I think there should have been a bit more back story or something.

I liked the video but I really want to know why the "Players" didn't seem the least bit surprised when they walked out of the forest. It was as if they were traveling through the forest, where the chocobos were unable to walk, and when they got out they were excited again. They called out the chocobos and hit the road.

I see how the, Ill call them "Sages," could walk away from where they were praying and knew what happened but the protagonist group, to me, seemed like they completely forgot about the epic battle they were in once they got out of the forest. Right away, yeah, they were like; "O, wow, look, what's going on... My arm, is that real?" But outside they were like "sweet, we made it out, that was a hard forest to walk through, where's my Chocobo... /callchocobo." "Run to the frozen peak!"

Maybe I'm expecting to much? I would have like to see some signs of the battle, like a monument for them to look at and then seem grateful, or maybe before they show up in the forest we see a glimpse of them in darkness with the symbols of The Twelve spinning around them with a soft echo or whisper of "its time my children, awaken and find your destiny and a realm reborn." That would also give new players a sense of what had happened. The world had regrown and prospered for a long amount of time to recover from a Mega Flair. I think there should have been a bit more back story or something.

Just me. I'm excited anyway.

Well, unless they are going for a rift-esque theme in which they were teleported back in time with new knowledge to hopefully not make the same mistakes of fighting each other and focus on the real threat.

I'm not sure what to make of it, honestly. It made sense up until that teleport, from my point of view. And this is coming from someone who quite a few months after 1.0 truly tanked, so there's a lot I might not really know about. What it looked like to what is essentially a new player was, everyone was fighting each other for reasons unknown. All of a sudden, also for reasons unknown, a bigger threat appears and almost destroys everything, except super mage and his coordinated clerics manage to hold it off with spells and prayer long enough to teleport the fated five back to wherever they were supposed to be.

From here, it gets a little sketchy. Someone riding a chocobo with a flag. Civilians going about their daily lives with seemingly not a care in the world. Our five companions conjuring their mounts out of nowhere and riding towards some sinister-looking structure, which may or may not have been what they were originally doing before they were teleported.

From a cinematic standpoint, it's gripping. From the standpoint of someone who was already burned once - I would have liked it to have made a little more sense before lavishing them with praise.

I assume you did not see the video when it was originally released a few months ago..... it's the same video... and leaves the same questions....

That's why people started throwing around the "LOL! Time magic" and from the video, it's safe to assume they where transported from the battle to when they appeared in that forest.

You would be making the wrong assumption.

By NPC's, I mean the NPC's, not the main characters that are placeholders for players, I.E. the dudes in the forest.

Erm... They survived the initial attack of bahamut.... How is this news ? The only parts that are new on this video is odin, the ice structure, and they running on chocobos lol everything else if the same as the last video they showed before the last event of the game.

I was expecting some damm raid combat gameplay or something more engaging than 2 shoting rats.

I liked the video but I really want to know why the "Players" didn't seem the least bit surprised when they walked out of the forest. It was as if they were traveling through the forest, where the chocobos were unable to walk, and when they got out they were excited again. They called out the chocobos and hit the road.

I was also hoping for a bit more confusion, though I hope this is a unique part of the beginning of existing players' experience in 2.0.

But these guys just walked out and whistled for their chocobo, who has been like Fry's Dog, waiting in the same place for 5 years.

But seriously, it's not that it takes a lot to impress, it's that this is the same video that was released months ago with an extra 20 seconds at the end of it and a beta app announcement. The beta app IS newsworthy, but when I clicked the link for the video I thought I'd clicked the wrong thing because I'd seen this already.

____________________________

svlyons wrote:

If random outcomes aren't acceptable to you, then don't play with random people.

I was there, but then again, after getting seven level 50 jobs, a free year of what would have been a subscription, and a permanent discount (among all the legacy things), with the reboot of the game I expected to buy back then, I'm just as excited as ever!

Archmage Callinon wrote:

Laughed right out loud at work and everything.

But seriously, it's not that it takes a lot to impress, it's that this is the same video that was released months ago with an extra 20 seconds at the end of it and a beta app announcement. The beta app IS newsworthy, but when I clicked the link for the video I thought I'd clicked the wrong thing because I'd seen this already.

I think what's making people disappointed is that they expected a new trailer. This isn't a trailer. The "End of an Era" scenes were a trailer for the full opening cinematic, which is what we were given today.

I'm not sure what to make of it, honestly. It made sense up until that teleport, from my point of view. And this is coming from someone who quite a few months after 1.0 truly tanked, so there's a lot I might not really know about. What it looked like to what is essentially a new player was, everyone was fighting each other for reasons unknown. All of a sudden, also for reasons unknown, a bigger threat appears and almost destroys everything, except super mage and his coordinated clerics manage to hold it off with spells and prayer long enough to teleport the fated five back to wherever they were supposed to be.

The game takes place after the Seventh Umbral Era, which was in a real life perspective, the game developer's way of fixing all the stuff that was wrong with the game. (The dreaded small rats you couldn't see, the lack of threats and raids, uninspired copy/pasted world, etc...)

Most of the new main scenario quests will be a mix of what they intended to do in 1.0 and the rebuilding coming of life after the Seventh Era. The opening cinematic sets the stage, not unlike how the Tavnazian destruction in FFXI set the stage for many of its story arcs.

In every thread you hear negativity and disappointment about how this new tiny bit of stuff doesn't live up to the insane hype you've built up in your head. Where is this hype coming from, because all i hear is "oh man they better impress me or I'm going to stop fiending for every tidbit and alpha leak."

SE hasn't even rolled out a hype wagon, in the slightest. The only thing said about today was "Some news coming on Jan. 7th." and everyone's all sour-pants because why? You thought bacon-mage was gonna be announced?

Set your expectations accordingly, or this is going to be a long ****ing 7 months.

In every thread you hear negativity and disappointment about how this new tiny bit of stuff doesn't live up to the insane hype you've built up in your head. Where is this hype coming from, because all i hear is "oh man they better impress me or I'm going to stop fiending for every tidbit and alpha leak."

SE hasn't even rolled out a hype wagon, in the slightest. The only thing said about today was "Some news coming on Jan. 7th." and everyone's all sour-pants because why? You thought bacon-mage was gonna be announced?

Set your expectations accordingly, or this is going to be a long ****ing 7 months.

In every thread you hear negativity and disappointment about how this new tiny bit of stuff doesn't live up to the insane hype you've built up in your head. Where is this hype coming from, because all i hear is "oh man they better impress me or I'm going to stop fiending for every tidbit and alpha leak."

SE hasn't even rolled out a hype wagon, in the slightest. The only thing said about today was "Some news coming on Jan. 7th." and everyone's all sour-pants because why? You thought bacon-mage was gonna be announced?

Set your expectations accordingly, or this is going to be a long ****ing 7 months.

I don't really think anyone is "sour-pants; just not ready to gush over what is a lackluster cinematic. Like I said, it's certainly gripping. Just watching it before seeing anything in these forums or even seeing the earlier version which some folks have said it's just a copy pasta of, it really grabbed my attention and made me want to know more. More about super mage. More about that guy who I guess is probably Cid. More about wtf is everyone fighting for when the sky is literally opening up and vomiting forth dragons. More about how the heck do the chocobos balance with all that armor and only two legs!??

But that doesn't mean that it's a particularly good opening cinematic for introducing someone who wasn't there for the nth Umbrella Era to FFXIV Revisited.

The city is burned to the ground. Then it isn't. People are all fighting. Then they aren't. Five companions are in the middle of it all. Then they're gone. Then they are somewhere else. Super mage smiles, and disappears into oblivion, along with team thamaturge and the conclave of complex clerics.

Even after reading through that wiki that someone linked - it's a good story, but I wish that the cinematic just made more sense. An opening trailer is supposed to introduce you to the expansion, or in this case, the relaunch. It doesn't have to tell you the whole story, no. But it could at least be an entry point into the world without overwhelming the viewer with, wtf?

But seriously, it's not that it takes a lot to impress, it's that this is the same video that was released months ago with an extra 20 seconds at the end of it and a beta app announcement. The beta app IS newsworthy, but when I clicked the link for the video I thought I'd clicked the wrong thing because I'd seen this already.

^^^ That is my problem with the video, is nothing NEW! And when the original video was released, SE got a lot of flack for it in the official forums, because their player base want's to see actual GAME PLAY VIDEO! (That is not killing 2 rats in 1 second) We do not need some flashy video, where it looks like they are gutting the lore... all of the question that arise from this video are bad writing in my opinion... So now you can use time magic huh... Could have used that a long time ago, to like port a group of players before the imperial guy got all crazy and murder him... Or jesus why did the empire just exterminated the city states after bahamuts attack ? Oh 2 of their 3 cities are utterly destroyed and they have lost probably 60-80% of their armys... lets wait a few years to finish them off <.<

In all honesty this is the most stupid magitech empire i have witness in a game, Gelsthals empire would have raped the alliance in 5 minutes, while kefka stabs that crazy old guy in the heart all the while laughing.

I'm still kind of confused on what you guys were expecting. We've been getting gameplay videos constantly the past couple of weeks, we'll likely get more after the beta launches to show off some of the Active Time Events and Limit Breaks.

It's the opening of the game. The one we'll probably get used to skipping a million times through when it's booting up. The End of an Era high quality CG footage wasn't just going to be shelved at the end of posting the video as a YouTube trailer. It's a waste of resources.

Also: I just think showing gameplay in a game opening is kind of cheesy. I don't think even the offline FFs have done that.

---

Maybe I should post an example to where I would be mad for them reusing things and showing us stuff we've seen before:

Say we're given a new video that shows off new dungeon gameplay next week, and it starts off by recycling in-game footage from the Tam-Tara Deepcroft. I can see why people would be upset. It's not high-quality footage and gameplay from a trailer/production standpoint doesn't take a long time to film, unless the dev team simply hasn't created the dungeon/raid zone at all.

But the case I'm making is that we've seen gameplay of that before in their alpha first look, they said it was new dungeon gameplay, and never showed us anything interesting.

I just don't understand what you guys expect in the game opening of "A Realm Reborn". How can you have an opening that doesn't explain Bahamut/Dalamud wrecking the place, I would be more confused as a player if they hadn't shown that.

I wasn't surprised they included the "ending" of the old game. We all admitted it was some **** good CG back then, why not recycle?

SUDDENLY, ODIN.

Having the birds there is freaking convenient, yes, but that's exactly how you called your birds in 1.0, so it's actually pretty demonstrative of gameplay. You whistled and you had a bird. They even show the chocobos jumping off the cliff!

I think the coolest thing was the remains of Dalamud off in the horizon. Having an artificial moon smash into your planet is a good excuse for completely re-arranging the landscape.

____________________________

FFXI: Catwho on Bismarck: Retired December 2014

Thayos wrote:

I can't understand anyone who skips the cutscenes of a Final Fantasy game. That's like going to Texas and not getting barbecue.

I think Odin being included is a big deal actually. I just looked and the official Summoner job page only mentions Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan. Maybe it means Odin will be available as a summon as well?

I thought they already announced that Odin would be a roaming NM that can be summoned by the free company who defeats him. I also thought they said he would grow stronger with each defeat. I'm sure I read that somewhere.

Never confuse your inference as the listener for an implication of the speaker.

Good games are subjective like good food is subjective. You're not going to seriously tell me that there's not a psychological basis for why pizza is great and lutefisk is revolting. The thing about subjectivity is that, as subjects go, humans actually have a great deal in common.

Video looks great. It seems like a really good way to announce beta applications are open. Can't wait for the ps3. :)

Couldn't agree more. Maybe would have liked to see our main heroes be a slight more empathetic to being transported into the future moments after (for them) being saved from being dragon **** but I'm excited. Fun little add-on.

Never confuse your inference as the listener for an implication of the speaker.

Good games are subjective like good food is subjective. You're not going to seriously tell me that there's not a psychological basis for why pizza is great and lutefisk is revolting. The thing about subjectivity is that, as subjects go, humans actually have a great deal in common.

In every thread you hear negativity and disappointment about how this new tiny bit of stuff doesn't live up to the insane hype you've built up in your head. Where is this hype coming from, because all i hear is "oh man they better impress me or I'm going to stop fiending for every tidbit and alpha leak."

SE hasn't even rolled out a hype wagon, in the slightest. The only thing said about today was "Some news coming on Jan. 7th." and everyone's all sour-pants because why? You thought bacon-mage was gonna be announced?

Set your expectations accordingly, or this is going to be a long ****ing 7 months.

I don't really think anyone is "sour-pants; just not ready to gush over what is a lackluster cinematic. Like I said, it's certainly gripping. Just watching it before seeing anything in these forums or even seeing the earlier version which some folks have said it's just a copy pasta of, it really grabbed my attention and made me want to know more. More about super mage. More about that guy who I guess is probably Cid. More about wtf is everyone fighting for when the sky is literally opening up and vomiting forth dragons. More about how the heck do the chocobos balance with all that armor and only two legs!??

But that doesn't mean that it's a particularly good opening cinematic for introducing someone who wasn't there for the nth Umbrella Era to FFXIV Revisited.

The city is burned to the ground. Then it isn't. People are all fighting. Then they aren't. Five companions are in the middle of it all. Then they're gone. Then they are somewhere else. Super mage smiles, and disappears into oblivion, along with team thamaturge and the conclave of complex clerics.

Even after reading through that wiki that someone linked - it's a good story, but I wish that the cinematic just made more sense. An opening trailer is supposed to introduce you to the expansion, or in this case, the relaunch. It doesn't have to tell you the whole story, no. But it could at least be an entry point into the world without overwhelming the viewer with, wtf?

Edited, Jan 7th 2013 3:52pm by Torrence

It's pretty safe to assume they are going to add a voice over with the introduction, to explain to new players what the **** is going on.